Packers Urged To Consider Trading Star RB Aaron Jones

It is a brave new world these days for Aaron Jones and the Green Bay Packers, as this is the first season since 1991 that they haven’t had a Hall of Fame quarterback on their roster.

Jordan Love is their new man under center, and while he showed some promise in his first two games, he has thrown six interceptions and just two touchdown passes in his last three games.

The Packers are 2-3, but a playoff appearance seems very unlikely for them, especially given their lack of stud wide receivers.

Austin Krueger of FanSided feels it’s time for them to make at least one move before the Oct. 31 deadline in order to build for the future, and he feels that running back Aaron Jones may have to go for the good of their future.

“A fan favorite in Green Bay and a leader in the Packers’ locker room, trading Jones would be a heart-wrenching decision for the team,” wrote Krueger.

“… But, as they say, ‘the NFL is a business.’

“While dealing with a hamstring injury, Jones has only registered 14 rushing attempts in 2023. Meanwhile, the backups have looked unspectacular in his absence, drawing concerns about the future of AJ Dillon.

“Teams eyeing a running back upgrade to solidify a playoff push could take advantage of a lower price on Jones due to the injury concerns.”

Jones has been one of Green Bay’s biggest and most reliable offensive threats over the past few years. He ran for 1,121 yards last season, and he led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns back in 2019.

He has also been a dual-threat running back who has posted a total of 207 catches, 1,615 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns over the last four seasons prior to this one.

He is nearing his 29th birthday, which means he’s also nearing the age of 30, which is when running backs historically experience a precipitous decline in their performance. Perhaps this would be a good time for the Packers to get the best return on him.

A good return could mean, at a minimum, a mid-round draft pick and a second or third-string running back. But Krueger surmised that if the Packers sweeten the pot with a draft pick of their own, perhaps they could land Rachaad White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or even the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Najee Harris.

Harris would be a nice pickup, as he has run for over 1,000 yards in both of his previous NFL seasons while making the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021.